Space Jam
Space Jam is a 1996 family live-action/animated sports comedy film starring Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes characters. The film was produced by Ivan Reitman, and directed by Joe Pytka, with Tony Cervone and Bruce W. Smith directing the animation. A fictional account of Jordan's first retirement from the NBA, the film was released theatrically by Warner Bros. under the Family Entertainment label on November 15, 1996. It plays out as an alternate story of Jordan's initial return to basketball, this time with him being inspired by Bugs Bunny and others. Space Jam was a box office success, opening at #1 in the US, and grossing over $230 million worldwide. Plot A group of aliens called the Nerdlucks, led by their boss, Mister Swackhammer (voiced by Danny DeVito), plot to capture the Looney Tunes characters and make them their newest attractions in order to save their failing amusement park called Moron Mountain from foreclosure and bring in more customers. Seeing how short the aliens are, the Looney Tunes bargain for the freedom by challenging the Nerdlucks to a basketball game. Preparing to cheat in the game, the Nerdlucks return to Earth and steal the basketball talents of Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues and Shawn Bradley. The Nerdlucks use their stolen talent to become the Monstars (or "Mean Team"), gigantic creatures that the Looney Tunes are unable to defeat. To help them win, the characters recruit Michael Jordan, who reluctantly agrees after the Monstars squash him into the shape of a basketball and bounce him around like one. In the beginning of the game between the Tune Squad and the Monstars, the Looney Tunes are injured one by one until only Jordan, Bugs, Lola and Daffy are left in the game, leaving them short one player. Marvin the Martian, who is the referee tells them that if there is no 5th player, the team will forfeit the game. At the last second, Bill Murray appears in the stadium and joins the team, narrowly averting forfeiture. Meanwhile, Jordan reluctantly makes a deal with Swackhammer to spare the Looney Tunes in exchange for his own freedom as his newest attraction if the Tune Squad loses. He readily accepts it and Bugs tries to talk him out of it, apparently aware what it means for Jordan being subjected to humiliation on Moron Mountain for all time. At the game's climax, the Tune Squad are down by one and it is up to Jordan to score the winning point. Extending his arm with the power of toon physics, Jordan makes the basket and wins the game. He convinces the Monstars that they're bigger than Swackhammer for losing. Fed up with their boss, the Monstars tie him up and send him to the moon. At Jordan's request, they give back the stolen basketball talents from the other players by transferring them to a basketball. This reverts the Monstars back to the Nerdlucks. Refusing to return to Moron Mountain to endure humiliation from their former boss, the Nerdlucks decide to stay with the Looney Tunes who only agree to let them if they can prove to be looney. Afterwards, Jordan is returned back to Earth in the Nerdlucks' spaceship, where he makes a dramatic and appearance at the basketball game to the cheers of the audience, despite being late. The next morning, Michael gives the stolen talent back to the other NBA players. He is later prompted by his rivals to return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life come back and prompted by his rivals. Cast Live-action actors * Michael Jordan as a fictional version of himself, a professional basketball player who retires from the NBA to pursue a career in baseball, which is what his father wanted him to do. ** Brandon Hammond as Michael Jordan as a child. * Bill Murray as himself, one of Michael Jordan's friends and an aspiring basketball player, though Jordan doubts his abilities. Following his play with the Tune Squad, Murray impresses Jordan but decides to retire. * Wayne Knight as Stan Podolak, a publicist who makes sure nobody bothers Michael Jordan. * Larry Bird as himself, one of Michael Jordan's friends and golfing partners. He crushes Bill Murray's dream of playing in the NBA. * Thom Barry as James R. Jordan, Sr., Michael Jordan's father. * Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Michael Jordan's supportive wife. The character is based on Jordan's real life ex-wife. * Manner Washington as Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's oldest son. * Eric Gordon (not the current NBA player) as Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan's youngest son. * Penny Bridges as Jasmine Jordan, Michael Jordan's daughter. * Del Harris (at the time the head coach of the Los Lakers) as Himself * Charles Barkley as himself, of the Phoenix Suns who gets his talent stolen by Pound. * Patrick Ewing as himself, of the New Knicks who gets his talent stolen by Bang. * Shawn Bradley as himself, of the Philadelphia 76ers who gets his talent stolen by Blanko. * Larry Johnson as himself, of the Charlotte Hornets who gets his talent stolen by Bupkus. * Muggsy Bogues as himself, of the Charlotte Hornets who gets his talent stolen by Nawt. Dan Castellaneta and Patricia Heaton make cameo appearances as a couple that the Nerdlucks (in disguise) sit next to at a basketball game. Voice cast challenge the Nerdlucks to a basketball game|250px|right|thumb]] * Billy West provides the voices of: ** Bugs Bunny, a rabbit who acts as the Looney Tunes and plays on their basketball team. ** Elmer Fudd, a hunter who seeks Bugs Bunny's demise. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team. * Dee Baker provides the voices of: ** Daffy Duck, a duck and best friend of Bugs Bunny who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. ** The Tasmanian Devil, a marsupial who plays on the Looney Tunes' team. ** Toro, a bull that attacks the Monstar Pound during the game after Daffy painted his shorts red. * Danny DeVito provides the voice of Swackhammer, the proprietor of the theme park "Moron Mountain", for which he seeks new attractions to save his failing business. * Bob Bergen provides the voices of: ** Porky Pig, a pig who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. ** Tweety Bird, a bird who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. ** Marvin the Martian, an extraterrestrial who acts as the game's referee. ** Hubie and Bertie, a pair of mice who act as the commentators of the game. * Bill Farmer provides the voices of: ** Yosemite Sam, a western outlaw who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. ** Foghorn Leghorn, a rooster who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. ** Sylvester, a cat who seeks to devour Tweety Bird. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team. * June Foray provides the voice of: ** Granny, a woman who acts as the cheerleader for the Looney Tunes' team. * Maurice LaMarche provides the voice of Pepé Le Pew, a skunk who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. * Kath Soucie provides the voice of Lola Bunny, a rabbit who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Lola is also the newest character. She is Bugs Bunny's love interest and later becomes his girlfriend. The voices of the Nerdlucks are provided by Jocelyn Blue (Pound), Charity James (Blanko), June Melby (Bang), Catherine Reitman (Bupkus) and Colleen Wainwright (Nawt); the voices of the Monstars are provided by Darnell Suttles (Pound), Steve Kehela (Blanko), Joey Camen (Bang), Dorian Harewood (Bupkus) and T. K. Carter (Nawt). Music Distribution Video games There was also a licensed pinball game by Sega based on the film and a video game for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Windows PC by Acclaim. Home media The film was released as a 2-disc special edition DVD on October 28, 2003, and as a feature in a 4-film Favorites: Family Comedies 4-movie collection in November 6, 2007, and was released as a single disc DVD on February 8, 2011, and for the first time in widescreen HD on Blu-ray on October 4, 2011. Reception Critical response Space Jam received generally mixed reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 35% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 49 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave Space Jam a "thumbs up," which Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also gave the film, although his zeal was more subdued. Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film for its humor. He also praised the Looney Tunes' antics and Jordan's acting. Although Janet Maslin of The New York Times criticized the film's animation, she later went on to say that the film is a "fond tribute to Looney Tunes characters' past." The soundtrack sold enough albums to be certified as 6x Platinum. It also served as a high point for musical artist R. Kelly, whose song "I Believe I Can Fly" became a hit after it was featured on the film's soundtrack. Other tracks included a cover of "Fly Like an Eagle" (by Seal), "Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem)" (by B-Real, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J, and Method Man), "Basketball Jones" (by Chris Rock & Barry White), and "For You I Will" (by Monica). The movie's theme song was performed by the Quad City DJ's. Box office Space Jam was a box office success. At the end of its run, it grossed $90,418,342 in the United States and over $230,000,000 internationally. Accolades *1997 and 1998 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards **'Won': Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures (Diane Warren for the song "For You I Will") **'Won': Top Box Office Films (James Newton Howard) *1997 Annie Awards **'Won': Best Individual Achievement: Technical Achievement **Nomination: Best Animated Feature **Nomination: Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a Feature Production (Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone) **Nomination: Best Individual Achievement: Producing in a Feature Production (Ron Tippe) *1998 Grammy Awards **'Won': Best Song Written Specifically for Motion Picture or for Television (R. Kelly) (For the Song I Believe I Can Fly) *1997 MTV Movie Awards **Nomination: Best Movie Song (R. Kelly) (For the Song I Believe I Can Fly) *1997 Satellite Awards **Nomination: Best Motion Picture- Animated or Mixed Media (Daniel Goldberg, Joe Medjuck, Ivan Reitman) *1998 World Animation Celebration **'Won': Best Use of Animation in a Motion Picture Trailer *1997 Young Artist Awards **Nomination: Best Family Feature- Animation or Special Effects In other media The Monstars make a cameo in the Pinky and the Brain / Animaniacs episode "Star Warners" (a parody of Star Wars). References External links * * * * * * Category:1990s comedy films Category:1996 films Category:Alien visitation films Category:American animated films Category:American basketball films Category:American comedy films Category:Basketball films Category:Children's films Category:Comedy science fiction films Category:English-language films Category:Fantasy-comedy films Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Films with live action and animation Category:Looney Tunes films Category:Michael Jordan Category:Sports comedy films Category:Warner Bros. Animation animated films Category:Films directed by Joe Pytka Category:Movies Category:Films Category:Warner Bros. films